Potato-planter.



NI. E. DORE.

POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov,14.1912.

Lll. Patented oct. 26, 1915.

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POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov` 14. 1912.

1,158,031, Patented oet. 26, 1915.

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POTATO PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-14. 19I2.

Lll.. Patented oet. 26, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ir 1; 'rr ierrnivr MARY E. DORE, 0F BECKER, MINNESOTA.

POTATO-PLANTER.

Application filed November 14, 1912.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, MARY E. Donn, a citi- Zenof the United States, residing at Becker, in the county of Sherburne,State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPotato-Planters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the Vinvention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to planters and has for an object to provide acheck row potato planter that will'drop single seeds atpredeterminedintervals in parallel rows.

A further object of the invention is to provide a` novel feed Vmechanismthat will remove the seed potatoes one at a time from the seed hopperand drop' the same into the planter boot.

A still further object ot' the invention is to provide an extremelysimple and ineX- pensive planter that will plant potatoes and cover thesame.

With the above objectsin View the invention consists of certain noveldetails of construction and combination of parts herein`l after fullydescribed and claimed, it being understood that various modificationsmay be made in the minor details of construction within the scope of theappended claim.

In the accompanying drawings formingl part of this specilication:-Figure1 is a side elevation of the planter rear wheel removed. F ig. 2 is aplan view oi' the planter. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the plantel'.Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the planter. Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsectional view taken on the line 5 5 Fig. 2 showing the planter valveopen and the endless feeder belt in position to discharge a seed throughthe open valve. Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but showing theplanter valve closed. Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line8h55 Fig. 5 showing the planter valve in plan in open position and indotted lines in closed position.

Referring now t0 the drawings in which like characters of referencedesignate similar parts, the planter is showin to comprise asubstantially rectangularmain frame including opposite side members 11and oppoV site front and rear members 12 and 13. An axle 14: is ournaledin the side members and is equipped terminally with ground wheels 15. Apair of parallel standards 16 rises Specification of Letters Patent.

Patenten oet. es, isis.

Serial No. 731,373.

from the side members 11 near `the `frame iront member 12, thesestandards being braced by inclined rearwardly extending braces 17. Atransverse shaft 18 is journaled in the upper ends or the standards andextends parallel with the rotary axle 1l.

Fixed to theaxle 11- are spaced sprocket gears 19 and disposed on thetransverse shaft 18 in alinement with these gears are spaced pulleys 20.trained over each gear and the corresponding pulley and each sprocketchain is equipped with cups 22 which are spaced at equal distancesapart,

Surrounding the rear lap of each sprocket chain is a seed potato hopper23 which is inverted trusto-conical in outline, the cups on the relatedchain when moving up through the hopper each receiving a seed potato andcarrying the same forwardly over the related pulley 20, and linallydischarging the potato through an open valve of the planter boot as willpresently be described. For preventing the seed potatoes from'escapingthrough the bottom of the potato hopper during passage oi" the chainbetween cups through the hopper, a bottom 24 is arrangedin the hopper,the bottoni being formed of hinged :flaps 26, these Haps being. swung upby passage of the cups in succession, and closing immediately after thepassage oi" the cups. There is an opening 25 in the bottom Flaps for thechain, to permit free passage thereof when the bottom is closed.

The seed potato hoppers are supported in position by bracket arms 2Tsecured to the front member 12 of the frame, and furthermore a feedtable 28 is supported in rear of the upper ends of the hoppers by meansof bracket arms 29 secured to the rear member 13 of the frame. Seedpotatoes may be fed at will from this feed board into the hoppers toreplenish the supply of the seed potatoes in the hoppers. A seat 30 issecured to the rear member of the trame as shown.

Secured to the under face of the front member 12 of the frame are spacedplanter boots 31 the upper open ends of which register with openings 32formed in said front member. Secured to the top face of the front memberare spaced inverted irustoconical hopper-s 33 which receive the seedpotatoes discharged from the cups of the related chains. A pair of iixedguide plates A sprocket chain 21 is 34at are disposed on the transverseshaft l18 on opposite sides of each pulley and serve to direct the seedpotatoes from the cups into their respective hoppers. Y The openings 32arenormally closed by valves which are preferably regulated by a checkwire to openat the instant a cup discharges its potato into theunderlying hopper 33 and yper.- mit of the potato dropping through theboot Yinto the furrowrmade by the latter.

Each' valve comprises an oblongblank of sheet meta-l which is slidablyiitted on the top face of the front member 12 of the frame Vunderneaththe related hoppei1 33, and is imperforate near one end to form aclosure tating therethrough into the boot. pair of lugs 36 are struck upfrom the rear corners of the valve and receivel the ends of pintle 37. Y

" A; rockY shaft 3S is jo-urnaled in the iside:

members and is equipped with pairs of crank arms 39 which are connectedto the respectiveterminals of the valve pintle 37. A crank arm 41carried by the rock shaft vbetween the valves is connected to a helicalspring 42 carried by thefront member 12 of the frame which springnormally holds the rock shaft in position to hold thevalves closed. Forrotating the rock shaft and opening the valves the outer ends of therock shaft are equipped with notched crank arms 43 which are normallyheld toward curved guides 44 through which the knotted check wires 45are trained, theknots in the check wires serving to pull rearwardly thecrank arms as the machine travels along between the Wires, with aresultant rocking rearwardly of the vcrank shaft against the tension ofits controlling spring and result ant simultaneous opening of thevalves.

What is claimed, is

`In aplanter, a frame, spaced planter boots mounted on the frame,inverted frusto-conicalhoppers mounted above and adjacent to said bootsand provided with open bottoms,

a squared rock-shaft journaled in and eX- tending outwardly beyond theframe, pairs of crank arms upwardly attached to the upper squared faceof the rockshaft adjacent to the base of said respective hoppers and themembers of each pair spaced apart a distance greater than the opening inthe bottom of said hopper, a valve comprising an oblong blank of sheetmetal yslidably mounted on the top face of the frame underneath therespective hoppers, said blank being imperforate at one end and providedwith a circular opening in the oppostie end, a pair of pintles hingedlyattached to the rear of said respective valves and at the opposite sidesthereof, the opposite ends of said pintles being attached to the outerextremities of said crank arms, means for communicating a rockingmotion'to said rock-shaft to bring the open end of said valvealternately with the closed end thereof in registry with the open bottomof said hopper, and means for supplying seeds intermittently to saidrespective hoppers. Y f In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature, inthe presence of two witnesses. Y MARY E. DORE. y

Witnesses:

E. R. WALTER, W. E. CRUZEN.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

